Public school systems have operated in substantially the same manner for many years. A student, particularly from the middle school through the college levels, has at least one textbook for each major subject, and normally carries as many as six subjects at one time. Each teacher typically has a number of classes covering the same subject, and frequently all of the classes for that subject are taught in the same classroom. Thus, the students go from one classroom to another on a predetermined schedule to take the different courses. Each of the courses generally includes a study portion and a test portion. The study portion includes classroom study from a textbook supplemented by handouts from the teacher and homework assignments consisting of reading assigned pages of the textbook and practice questions with math problems for courses in mathematics. The test portion includes test questions for closed book and open book examinations. The questions are either supplied by the teacher as handouts or provided by the textbook. The questions are customarily answered by multiple choice, true/false, or yes/no selections.
There are many problems associated with existing public educational systems. These problems stem from but are not limited to the increasing cost of textbooks, the obsolescence of the textbooks, and the excessive workload imposed on the teachers by the paper blizzard created in the preparation of homework assignments and tests, and the grading thereof. Data compilation of the grades, attendance records and other administrative matters and the preparation of the reports thereof to the school administrative office requires additional teacher time. As a result of these excessive workloads, the time remaining for teaching, particularly in the larger classrooms, is limited.
A particular difficulty for teachers exists where students of differing learning abilities must be taught in the same relatively large class. It is accepted that it is desirable to match a student's particular learning ability with the difficulty of the course to properly motivate the student for maximum learning, which is, of course, of primary importance. Also, any convenience to the student, or efficiency in the learning experience which promotes learning is an important consideration in the teaching process.